Bitcoin short-seller staged a $6 million liquidation
Yesterday, an influencer pretended to suffer a $6 million short liquidation on bitcoin (BTC) to attract followers and clout. The stunt fizzled after some basic fact-checking.
Crypto trader Laanie posted fake evidence of a leveraged wipeout long enough to attract a few hundred thousand views, then deleted the claim a few hours later.
The engagement farmer then hosted a social audio space on X to discuss the non-existent trade, which attracted over a thousand attendees amidst a particularly bullish day for crypto markets.
Indeed, BTC was enjoying one of its steepest, single day gains of the year, rallying from $64,000 to $75,000 in under 24 hours.
A proposed Community Note on X challenged the $6 million loss. It explained that the trading display Laanie shared had Bybit’s Demo mode enabled, a subtle yet unmistakable label for the crypto exchange’s simulated trading view.
